Snipes Picks a New Line Fight

We have all heard that there was a bit of trouble on the set of Blade: Trinity, and now it seems like those rumors are coming to the forefront as Wesley Snipes is suing New Line Cinema, writer-director David Goyer and Toby Emmerich in a wide-ranging federal lawsuit seeking more than $5 million in damages.

The suit was filed Monday in LA where Snipes alleges that in violation of his contract, the director, screenplay and supporting cast of “Blade: Trinity” were forced on him. He also claims he’s still owed a portion of his fee and that he was harassed and defamed because of his race.

Apparently Snipes was not to keen on Goyer directing the third installment even though he had penned all three, he also seemed to take exception to the amount of humor added into the picture along with the focus being somewhat diverted from the Blade character and onto Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel as the Nightstalkers in hopes of a spin-off.

The Variety article states that Snipes blames Goyer for the critical response to the film, citing reviews describing Goyer as a “disastrous choice” and calling the film a “bloody mess.”

The article goes on to say the following:

Snipes also claims that in contrast to the first two Blade films, in which efforts were made to select a multiracial cast and crew, defendants intentionally hired only white people, leading to feelings of isolation and exclusion by Snipes.

He also claims that Goyer made racially motivated statements about Snipes being unprofessional and difficult to work with, and that Goyer refused to discipline a crew member who wore a racially discriminatory T-shirt on the set.

Blade: Trinity is set for a DVD release of April 26th so if you haven’t seen it yet, and based on the meager $52 million it grossed at the box-office you haven’t, you can click here to order your own and watch the “bloody mess” for yourself.